Beyond his revolutionary theory of relativity (and his iconic hairdo!), Einstein’s legacy has proven to be remarkably profound and extensive. Representing more than 25 years of research into his personal papers, acclaimed scholars in fields ranging from the history of science to relativistic physics will be giving in-depth presentations on various aspects of his professional and private life.
Whether you are an admirer of his words, deeds or equations, you will be sure to learn something fascinating and rare from those who have spent nearly three decades immersed in the personal papers of Albert Einstein.
Followers of Einstein will be pleasantly surprised at how much there is still left to learn about him; for those not as well versed: this is a great opportunity to get your feet wet!
Monday May 19
8:30a.m.-4:30p.m.
Linder Theater, first floor
Free
8:30 am-9 am Coffee
9 am-10:30 am
Moderator: Dr. Diana Kormos Buchwald, Associate Professor of History, General Editor and Director, The Einstein Papers Project, Caltech
Dr. GERALD HOLTON, Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics and Professor of History of Science, Emeritus, Harvard University
"His Mind at Work: A first glimpse, through Einstein's Archive"
Abstract: An account of the "discovery" of Einstein's huge archive of (then largely unpublished) correspondence and manuscripts, and what he learned from first studying a portion of that treasure trove.
Dr. JOHN STACHEL, Professor Emeritus of Physics and Director of the Center for Einstein Studies, Boston University
"A Man of My Type: Editing the Einstein Papers"
Abstract: The emergence of the young Einstein from the shadow of the old, new viewpoints about the origins of the special and general theories of relativity, and a new understanding of the significance of general covariance.
Dr. ROBERT SCHULMANN, Senior Editor, The Einstein Papers Project, Caltech
"Plucking Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge: What documents have revealed to us about the young Einstein"
Abstract: How editorial detective work led to unknown documents and insights into the young Einstein's interactions, scientific and personal, before he became an icon.
10:30 am-11 am Coffee
11:00 am-noon
Moderator: Yemima Ben-Menahem, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Sidney M. Edelstein Center for the History and Philosophy of Science, Technology and Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
ZE'EV ROSENKRANZ, The Bern Dibner Curator of the Albert Einstein Archives, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Visiting Editor, The Einstein Papers Project, Caltech.
"The Personal Papers of the 'Person of the Century'": A presentation of
the Albert Einstein Archives: its history, its holdings, and its major responsibilities and fields of activity.
Noon-2 pm Lunch
2 pm-4:40 pm
Moderator: Michael Shara, Curator, Department of Astrophysics, American Museum of Natural History
Dr. JOHN D. NORTON, Professor and Chair, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh
"Albert Einstein: The Wizard of Thought Experiments"
Abstract: When Einstein developed his theories, he found that some of the deepest and most difficult results could be demonstrated effortlessly through simple stories about imaginary experiments. A new generation of scientists, eager to learn Einstein's physics, also learned the power of his method.
Dr. DANIEL KENNEFICK, Scientific Editor and Senior Research Fellow in the Humanities, The Einstein Papers Project, Caltech
"Einstein's Winter Holiday 1919"
Abstract: An account of Einstein's professorial activities during the revolution of 1919, his trip from Berlin to Zurich, his porce and a little known sidelight on relativity.
Dr. TILMAN SAUER, Scientific Editor and Senior Research Fellow in the Humanities, The Einstein Papers Project, Caltech
"Talking Formulas: Einstein's Berlin and Princeton Manuscripts on Unified Field Theory"
Abstract: An analysis of close to 2000 forgotten manuscript pages, filled with formulas and hardly any text, which bear witness to Einstein's untiring search for a unified field theory of gravitation and electromagnetism. This work, carried out by Einstein from the late 1920s until his death in 1955, will occupy historians of science for years to come.
Monday May 19
7:30-9pm
Kaufmann Theater, first floor
Program Code: JHL051903
$10 ($8 Members, students, senior citizens)
7:30 pm-9 pm
Moderator: Diana Kormos Buchwald
Dr. MARTIN J. KLEIN, Eugene Higgins Professor Emeritus of Physics and History of Science, Yale University, former General Editor of the Einstein Papers Project
Dr. FRITZ STERN, University Professor of History, Emeritus and former Provost, Columbia University, (Einstein's German World (1999).
FRED JEROME, writer/reporter, senior consultant to the Gene Media Forum, Newhouse School of Communications, Syracuse University (The Einstein File: J Edgar Hoover's Secret War Against the World's Most Famous Scientist , 2002.)
Dr. KIP THORNE, Richard P. Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Caltech (Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1994).
Dr. John Stachel ("Einstein's Miraculous Year: Five Papers That Changed the Face of Physics", PUP 2000)
Dr. Robert Schulmann ("Albert Einstein, Mileva Maric: The Love Letters," PUP 2002)
Michael Shara, Curator, American Museum of Natural History (Curating Einstein)
This event is co-sponsored by the AMNH, the Einstein Papers Project at the California Institute of Technology - with support from Princeton University Press- and the American Friends of The Hebrew University.
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